The 31-year-old Boynton Beach man shot and killed by a Palm Beach Gardens police officer Sunday bought a gun just three days before his death, according to police.

Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Stephen Stepp said Corey Jones was holding that gun when Officer Nouman Raja, 38, who was in an unmarked police car and plain clothes, was investigating what he thought was an abandoned car. In response, Raja shot Jones, Stepp said.

Stepp released the information about the gun, among other new details, in an abrubtly announced news conference Tuesday. He said the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation, and he could release only a limited amount of information to avoid compromising the sheriff's examination.

The confrontation occurred at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, Stepp said. According to band mates and family, Jones was driving back to Boynton Beach from a gig in Jupiter with his band, Future Prezidents, on Interstate 95 when his car broke down at PGA Boulevard.

Raja, working a burglary detail, was parked in a lot near the area, Stepp said.

Thinking the car was abandoned, Raja drove up to investigate, Stepp said. At the same time, Stepp said, Jones, holding the gun, confronted Raja. Stepp said the gun was found on the ground at the scene and its box was in Jones' car.

Stepp said the Sheriff's Office discovered paperwork indicating Jones bought the gun three days before the incident.

Stepp, who offered condolences to Jones' family and friends at the beginning of the news conference, said the Police Department also privately reached out to the family of Jones to offer condolences, but had not heard back from them.

"No matter what the circumstances turn out to be, his is a tragic loss of life that affects us all," the police chief said. "I firmly believe that the family, along with the public and our Police Department deserve answers to a multitude of outstanding questions that can only be obtained through a thorough and independent investigation."

Courtesy photo

Family members of Boynton Beach drummer Corey Jones, 31, said he was shot and killed by a Palm Beach Gardens police officer early Sunday.

Family members of Boynton Beach drummer Corey Jones, 31, said he was shot and killed by a Palm Beach Gardens police officer early Sunday.

(Courtesy photo)

Raja has been placed on administrative leave following department policy.

Friends and family of Jones said they suspect he did not know Raja was a police officer. They, along with state and U.S. representatives, have called for an independent investigation into the shooting.

At Tuesday's news conference, the police chief said there was no dashboard-camera footage, and said the department doesn't equip its officers with body cameras.

State Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said in a statement Tuesday that Jones' death is another example of why all officers should be equipped with body cameras.

"We need an agency that's completely independent and without any connections to the department," he said. "I only wish we required body cameras for all law enforcement officers, to protect the officers and citizens alike."

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, said he is "deeply concerned" about the shooting and also called for a thorough investigation.

"Corey's family deserves answers and an open and transparent investigation," he said. "Our whole community deserves nothing less, and I will be doing everything I can to ensure all the facts come to light."

Currently, that task is being overseen by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which referred all comments on the investigation to the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.

Jones, a well-known musician, played drums in various bands around the county and at his church, Bible Church of God in Boynton Beach. His grandfather, Sylvester Banks Sr., told the media after Stepp spoke that he did not know his grandson had a gun.

"You who are out there that are grandparents; I wish you could feel our sympathy and feel our grief for what we are going though," Banks said, while also calling for peace and a thorough, fair investigation into the facts surrounding Jones' death.

If he could talk to Raja, he said he would pray for the officer to tell the truth.

"The truth [will] make you free," he said. "If [the officer] had done right or whether he had done wicked, he's going to be accountable for it."

Jones' family has retained high-profile lawyer Benjamin Crump, and said they're reaching out to other high-profile public figures, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and President Barack Obama.

Crump, based in Tallahassee, has represented the family of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager from Miami Gardens who was killed in 2012 in Sanford by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Martin's case quickly drew national attention as time went by without charges against Zimmerman.

Zimmerman later was acquitted of second-degree murder in Martin's case.

Crump also has assisted the families of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old shot dead by Cleveland police, and the family of Michael Brown, whose shooting last year by an officer in Ferguson, Mo., also drew an outcry by the public.

The president of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, John Kazanjian, on Tuesday accused the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department of being slow to release information about the shooting.

The police department did, however, release Raja's records that show he has had no disciplinary actions. He was hired in April 2015.

Previously, he worked at the Atlantis Police Department, where he received a few disciplinary notes for failing to file reports and log evidence pertaining to cases. Once he was reprimanded for not disengaging from a road pursuit when he should have, but otherwise, the officer received praise from both his boss and members of the Atlantis community.

Kazanjian said slowly releasing information can make the community restless.

"It's causing reckless inferences about our officer's conduct," he said, adding that Raja, who has been assigned a union representative, has received death threats. He said he believes Raja has since relocated with his family. "Whether it's good or bad, they need to be more transparent."